Car-coupling



H. GROSS.

I GAR COUPLING.

(No Model.)

A ay 1,1883.

iatent u M ul rzrzns mmum nwr, Wishingtors n. c.

T all whom it may concern iJNtTED STATES PATENT Orrrc n.

HENRY GROSS, OF TIFFIN, OHIO.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 276,681, dated May 1, 1888.

Application filedSeptember2,1SE2. (Nomodeh) 7 Be it known that I, HENRY Gaoss, of Tiffin, county of Seneca, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Car- Oouplers, of'which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of carcouplers known as automatic couplers,that

couple or engage without aid from the brakeman when the cars are run together, and has for its object the construction of a coupler that shall possess the smallest possible number of working parts, whereby the greatest durability and cheapness of construction may be attained; that shall not depend upon accuracy and closeness of fit for successful operation-qualities that would render the action of j a coupler very uncertain and problematical;

that shall be capable of the simplest and strongest attachment to a car without requiring the removal of previously-applied draw-bars, or making any change whatever in the sill or frame system of the car; that shall be capable of utilizing the common link-and-pin draw-bar as a buffer to secure the proper separation of the cars; that may be readily uncoupled from the side or top of the car, and that shall be absolutely proof against disengagement so long as the cars remain upon the track, while being capable of instant and certain self-disengage ment should the cars leave the track upon either side thereof, which is an object desirable of attainment in order to prevent one car, should it leavethe track, from drawing others after it. 7

To these ends my invention consists essentially in a draw-bar adapted to couple automatically by gravity, and to be capable of disengagementlaterally while the train is moving, should one car accidentally become derailed or thrown from the track, the precise construction being a broad thin bar secured to the car so as to have a vertical motion, its breadth lying in a horizontal plane, and having booksformed on itsupper and lower surfaces the drawing-surface of each of which is divided uniformly and completely across its face into two parts by a horizontal offset, causing the part farthest from the bar to overhang the part that joins it to the bar, as hereinafter more fullyexplained. I I t f t The invention further consistsin a peculiar at a suitable distance apart.

| form of bolt with which to secure the draw-bar to the car, and in the manner ot'attaching said bolt to the car.

The invention further consists in the manner of applying a spring to the draw-bar, and in details of construction which will be hereinafter described, and set forth in the claims.

Iteferringto the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the coutiguous ends of two cars provided with my improved coupler. Fig. 2'is an enlarged sectional elevation of my coupler and fastening device. Fig. 3 is a plan of the same. Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of my improved coupler, showing a modification in the hook end of same. Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of coupler, illustrating one manner of attaching draft-spring. Fig. (i is a plan of the same. Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional eleration on thelinezrx, Fig. Fig. 8 is alongitudinal section in elevation of coupler, illustrating one form of attachment to a car. Fig. 9 is a transverse section on the line y of Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a plan of coupler as shown in Fig.8.

Referring to the drawings, A represent a portion of the body of a freightcar having the usual four-wheeled trucks, B. Secured to the under side of the main floor-sills ot' the car are a pair of sills, O O, having their length disposed in the direction of the length of the car, and between and to these sills is securedthe ordinary pin-and-link draw-bar, D. This is the construction of the draftapparatus of an ordinary freight-car, and without changing it in the least particular, which is strongly objected to by railroad officials and. master mechanics, I propose to attach my'improved draw-bar or automaticcoupler in the following manner: To the under side of the old drawbar sills O O, I secure the short sills E in a transverse position with relation to the car and They are firmly attached by long heavy bolts 0 c, runningentirely through sills O O, and also through the main sills of the car-floor. Secured to these sills E, at points midway of their length, and directly beneath and parallel with the center of the old bar D, isa, heavy staplebolt, F. This bolt has two ends, f f, that pass through the sills E, and are provided with retainingnuts 6 e. In continuation ofthe ends ff the bolt-has a central portion,f, lying at right angles thereto,which, taken in connection with the ends, forms a U-shaped or staple bolt, as I have heretofore termed it. The boltis shown in this form in Figs. 4, 5, and 6 of the drawings,with the end portions, ff, extending vertically through the sills E from the bottom thereof," and the central portion lyin gin a horizontal plane, with its length parallel to the direction of length ofthe car. In Figs. 1, 2, and 3 the bolt is secured to the sills somewhat differently and required to have a slight change of form. The end portion,f, that enters the sill E lying nearest the end of the car passes vertically through the same from the bottom, as before; but the end portion that is secured to the sill E lying farthest from the end ofthe carventers that sill in a horizontal direction from its front side, and is connected with the horizontal portion f by an inclined portion,f In both cases, however, the horizontal portion is suspended some distance below the lower surface of the sills E by making the vertical portions longer than the depth of the sills. To the vertical portion 1" that extends below the bottom surface of the forward sill, E, I secure the draw-bar G.

This bar is made broad and relatively thin-that is to say, the proportion of width to thickness is asabouteight to one and it is provided near its rear end with an aperture, 9, to receive the veltical portion fof bolt F. This aperture gmay be made of only sufficient size to freely engage the bolt, or it may be elongated in the direction of length of the bar, so as to allow of some longitudinal movement ofthe'barupon the bolt. When the aperture is reduced to approximately the size ofthe bolt the draw-bar isdesigned to pull directly upon the bolt; but when the aperture is elongated the draft is transmitted by a spring from the draw-bar to the bolt, and a yielding connection is secured that will reduce the shock of sudden strains in starting. Formed upon the bolt F is a shoulder, f to support the bar G above the horizontal portion f.

In the drawings two styles of draft spring II are shown. The spring H in Figs. .4 and 8 is compressed between an abutment, 71., upon the top of the draft-bar, back of the bolt F and the forward sill, E, in which case the pull is not upon the bolt, but upon the sill; and the spring in Figs. 5 and 6 is compressed between two heads, I and J, one of which, the head I, is secured to the draw-bar, at the rear .of the elongated "aperturegin the same, the other head, J, being adapted to move freely in said aperture and press against the rear of bolt F, in which case the pull is upon the bolt. The

I heads I and J are, for convenience of attachment, constructed in two parts, and the head I is bolted to the bar by the same bolts that hold the two parts together,while the movable head J rests in the slot g, with its'flanges extending beyond the slot, so as to embrace the'bar, and

the bolt that holds the two parts together passes through that portion. that rests in the slot. Beyond the rear spring head or abutment the draw-bar is bent slightly downward,

and is provided with a slot, g, to engage the rear portion of the bolt F and act as a guide to keep the draw-bar parallel with the longitudinal axis of the car, so that there shall be no lateral displacement thereof.

In Figs. 8, 9, and 10 a modification in the manner of securing the bolt F to the car is illustrated. In this case but one transverse sill,.E, is employed, and both ends of thebolt, which is constructed as shown in Fig. 4, enter it in a vertical direction from the bottom upward, the horizontal portion extending parallel with the direction of length of the sill, and at right angles with the axial length of the car. The rear end of the draw-bar is coneonsequently broadened to accommodate two apertures, g, each of which receives one of the vertical portionsfof the bolt, and the spring H and abutment h are located midway be tween and slightly back of the apertures.

The forward or hook end of the draw-bar is constructed as follows: The bar is extended forward the proper distance, and has formed upon its upper and lower surfaces hooksG,

width of. the draw-bar, and the metal is beveled forward of them from both top and bottom to a common point, G that forms the nose or end of the bar, and these inclined surfaces permit one bar to ride upon another in the act of coupling. The vertical drawingsurfaces of the hooks are divided into two portions, 1 and 2, bya horizontal dividing-0E- set, 3, the portion 1, which is farthest from the bar, projectin'g backward beyond the portion 2, that connects it to the bar, so that when two bars are caused to engage the projecting surface 1 of one bar will come in contact with the recessed surface 2 of the other bar.

It will readily be seen that when two drawbars are thus engaged in the act ofpulling no jolting orjumping can possibly disengage them, it being necessary to first move the bars backward in a direction exactly opposite to the direction of draft, and then bodilylift one vertically to clear the hook of the other.

The contour of the drawing-surfaces ot' the hook G is perfectly uniform horizontally acrosstheir face from side to side of the hook, so that they can be disengaged by sliding one laterally out of the other, and at a time when the drawing-surfaces are in contact. They areeonstructed in this manner so that should a carvj ump the track on either side its drawbar would immediately slide out of engagement with the bar of the next car, and thus prevent the runaway car from drawing others after it. 4

To raise, and depress the bar F when de sired in the act of uncoupling a crank-rod, K, is journaled to the rear side of sill E, with one crank resting againstthe top surface of the bar, and the other crank extending to one side of the, car, within easy reach of the brakeman. If it is desired to uncouple from the top or platform of the car, a suitable rod or chain may beconnected to the crank-rod K. If so desired the bar G may be adapted to swing laterally upon the bolt F to permit uncoupling, by moving the bar in a horizontal instead of a vertical direction, and in that case the slot g in the rear end of the bar would be dispensed with and means employed by which the bar could be either held rigidly in a central posi tion or rotated sidewise in either direction at will. In all cases, however, the bars are intended to couple or engage .by the action of gravity, one of the bars riding upon and dropping into contact with the other when two cars are brought together. When the bars are adjusted upon the cars the hook ends must invariably rest, when depressed to their lowest position, at a uniform distance above the track upon which the cars run, so that where the car to which a bar is attached is higher than an average the bar must be attached correspondingly low, andwhere the car is lower than an average height the bar must be attached correspondingly high. If necessary, a means of adjustment may be provided in the shape of a set-screw, that may pass through a lug upon-the back side of the front sill,E, and rest against the top side of the draw-bar back of bolt I By running this screw down against the bar the forward end of the same will be elevated, and if the screw is backed upward the forward end of the bar will be depressed.

It will be observed from the foregoing description that the draw-bar can'be attached to cars having the ordinary link-andpin drawbar without disturbing the same in the least, and I employ the old draw-bar to act as a buffer, to take the shock of the cars in coming together, and to keep them separated the proper distance apart.

In most automatic couplers it is necessary to remove the old draw-bar entirely, which is objectionable for many reasons besides cost, and hence my coupler will, with its simple method of fastening, the more readily recommend itself to railroad officials for attachment to old cars.

Owing to the tenon-shaped hook, it is impossible for it to become uncoupled by jarring orjolting when in the act of pulling, and no amountof wear will defeat its operation. The fastening is of the simplest and strongest form possible, and will require no cutting or changing of the car-frame, but simply the boring of a few bolt-holes in order to attach it.

Having thus described my invention, whatI claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. An automatice car-coupling consisting of abroad thin bar, G, secured to the car to have bar, and each of which drawing-surfaces is divided into two portions, 1 and 2, by a hori zontal offset, 3, when one of the drawing-surfaces is formed upon the barin advance of the other, and the bar intermediate is curved, so as to bring both hooks more nearly in line with the body of the bar, substantially as and for the purpose specified. V

3. In combination with the bar Gr of an antomatic caecoupler adapted to rise and fall vertically in the act of coupling, the staplebolt I passing vertically through an aperture or apertures, g,-in the bar, and secured to the transverse sills E, bolted against the under side of the car, substantially as and .for the purpose described.

4.. In combination with the draw-bar G of an automatic car-coupler, and the staple-bolt F, the transverse sills E, secured to the under side of the sills G O, to which the ordinary draw-bar is secured, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

5. The draw-bar Gr, staple-bolt F, and transverse sills E, in combination with the ordinary link-and-pin draw-bar, D, and sills C (1, substantially as and for'the purpose specified.

6. In combination with staple-bolt F, secured by sills E to the under side of the car,

'the draw-bar Gr, having opening 9 tosecure itto one end of the bolt, and slot g to engage the other end of the bolt and act to keep the draw-bar in a' central position, while permit-t ting the necessary vertical motion of the bar, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

7. In combination with staplebolt F, secured to the car-sills, the draft-bar G, having elongated openings g g, fixed head I, sliding head J, and intermediate spring, H, substan tially as and for the purpose specified.

8. In combination with bar Gr, the staple-bolt F, having shoulderf", substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony of which invention I hereunto set my hand this 28th day of August, 1882.

- HENRY GROSS.

Witnesses: I

- THOMAS J. BOLENDER,

L. WILLIAMS.

ILO

Ito

IIS 

